Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have not life in yourselves.
He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him.
As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth Me, he also shall live because of Me.
This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.
These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
But Jesus knowing in Himself that His disciples murmured at this, said unto them, Doth this cause you to stumble?
What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where He was before?
It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray Him.
And He said, For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it be given unto him of the Father.Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.
Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would ye also go away?
Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we have believed and know that Thou art the Holy One of God.
Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering us together here before Thy presence. Lord, we pray that Thy Spirit will lead us to that scene in the synagogue in Capernaum. Enable us to hear the words Thou spoke at that time.
Lord, we pray that by Thy Spirit Thou wilt quicken Thy written Word to us. Speak to our hearts. Reveal Thyself, Thy beauty, Thy glory to us once more, that we may follow Thee to the very end.
We commit this time into Thy hands, Lord. Thou wilt open our hearts and our understanding. Bring us into that eternal reality. Deliver us from all that is temporal, earthly, and passing away.
Lord, we need Thee. Come to us this morning. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Many years ago, I read a book, and the title of that book is Once Caught, No Escape. This is the autobiography of Norman Grubb. Now, I do not know how many of you have heard of Norman Grubb. He is the son-in-law of C. T. Studd, and I do not know how many of you know C. T. Studd.
This is his autobiography, and that title touched me very deeply. Ever since, I could not forget that title, because in that title you see real Christianity. You see true discipleship. You see what is meant by the calling of our Lord Jesus, and you see what true Christians should be: once caught, no escape.
I wonder how many of God’s people are caught—not caught by teaching, not caught by any form or system, but caught by the Lord Himself. And once you are caught, you have no escape.
Now, how do we know that you are caught? We know because if you have not been caught, you have many escapes. You have many alternatives. You have many ways that you can go. But once you are caught by the Lord, there is no more alternative. You are finished—finished with Him. That is true Christianity.
Today, God’s people are too easy. They have too many alternatives. When things go right according to their desire, they go with the Lord. When things become difficult, or you cannot understand, then you walk no longer with the Lord.
In a sense, God’s people are not caught by Christ. Christianity becomes easy. To be a believer means that you believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior. You are saved by grace, and you are blessed by the Lord. You expect to have an easy, smooth life on earth.
You are not thinking of the cross that you have to bear. When you are challenged by the Word of God to give your life, you will find a bypass. You have alternatives. This is not Christianity. This is not discipleship. This is not the calling of the Lord. This is not what a Christian is supposed to be.
So that title has been with me all these years. Is our Christianity real? Are we true disciples of the Lord Jesus? Why is it that our Christian life is unfulfilled, and is not what it ought to be?
It is a serious matter to be a Christian. It is not something to play with. C. T. Studd wrote a booklet called Chocolate Christians. Many Christians are like chocolate Christians.
So what is our Christianity? Are we true disciples of the Lord? Have we been caught by Him? Or do we have many alternatives that we can choose?
This reminds me of the scene two thousand years ago, recorded in John 6. You know the feeding of the five thousand. You find it in all the Gospels: Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6.
Now, whenever something is recorded in all the Gospels, you know the significance of that incident. The feeding of the five thousand is recorded in all four Gospels, but only in the Gospel of John does it give us the inner meaning of the feeding of the five thousand.
The feeding of the five thousand is a fact. Our Lord performed a miracle. With five loaves and two fishes, He fed five thousand men, besides women and children. And there were twelve baskets of fragments left.
But the Bible tells us, according to John, that this miracle is a sign. A miracle is not just a miracle; a miracle is a sign. In other words, the miracle is like a signpost, pointing to something deeper, something that is more important.
So the feeding of the five thousand is a sign. But oftentimes we see the miracle, and we do not see the sign. We stay with the miracle, but we do not follow the sign and find the source of that miracle—the meaning of the miracle.
This incident happened as John the Baptist was beheaded. The former disciples, the twelve apostles whom the Lord sent out, came back. So the Lord took them and said, “Let us go aside and have some rest.” So they went to a desert place.
It was near the time of the Passover, so you find many pilgrims were on the way. Many followed the Lord to the desert, so the Lord taught them.
And you remember the story. When it was becoming dark, His disciples came to Him and said, “Lord, send them away. This is a desert place. Let them go into the villages to buy food.”
And the Lord said to His disciples, according to John 6—He said to Philip, “Give them to eat.” And Philip said, “Now, how can we feed so many people? Even if we bought two hundred denarii of bread, everybody would only have a little bit.” There was no way.
And there was Andrew. Now, Andrew is a person who is very careful. He noticed the small things. Of all the thousands of people, he noticed a little boy having five barley loaves and two small fishes. His mother prepared that for this boy as his meal.
So Andrew told the Lord, “There was a little boy who had five loaves and two fishes, but what can You do with so little?” And the Lord said, “Give it to Me.”
Thank God for that little boy, who was not so selfish as to cling to his five loaves and two fishes. When the Lord asked for it, he gave all to the Lord. And I hope we will do the same.
The Lord took the five small barley loaves. And you know, barley, according to the custom of that time, was the food of the poor. He took it, gave thanks, blessed it, and distributed it. And five thousand men, with women and children, were all fully fed. And there were twelve handbaskets full of leftovers.
When the people saw that, what was their reaction? The Lord knew the human heart. The Lord knew that they would force Him to be their king. If anyone could solve our food problem, He could be our king. He should be our king. Then all our problems would be solved.
So our Lord Jesus first of all sent His disciples away. Now, why did He do that? Because the disciples were no different from the crowds. They had the same idea. And, as a matter of fact, that idea never left them. Even when our Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem for the last time, they were still thinking about that. Even after the resurrection of the Lord, before His ascension, that was the question they asked.
So the Lord knew His disciples would do the same thing to Him, so He sent them away. Then He sent the multitudes away. He went to the mountain and prayed.
And, of course, you know the disciples were rowing in the Sea of Tiberias, and there was a wind. Then the Lord walked on the water and joined them. You know the story about Peter. Anyway, they arrived on the other shore.
The next day, the multitude went back to the place where our Lord fed the five thousand and found the Lord was not there. They knew the Lord did not go with the disciples, but there was no other boat. So when boats came in, they discovered the Lord was not there, and they all hurried over to the other side. They found our Lord Jesus in Capernaum.
Now, by all outward appearances, anyone would be pleased when you find so many people are after you. But the Lord knew better. Soon, when they came to Him—a great multitude coming to Him, as if they were after Him—the Lord knew what they were after.
So the Lord said, “You come to Me, not because you have seen the signs, but because you have eaten.” They did not see the sign. They were being fed. It was a miracle. It was a fact. But they did not see the sign.
They did not see how that miracle which the Lord performed was going to lead them into something eternal. Their mind was on earthly food: “How can we solve our present problem, our physical problem, the need of our body?” Our body is our god, and anyone who can satisfy our belly can be our king.
So our Lord said, “Work not for the food which perisheth, but work for the food which abideth unto eternal life.” Well, they took up the word “work.” “All right, if You are talking about work, then tell us: what are the works that we should do?”
And the Lord said, “This is the work of God”—not your work. This is the work of God. God has done it. God has sent His only beloved Son into this world to be the Bread of Life. He has done it.
All you need to do, to do the work of God, is to believe in the One whom God has sent. Of course, they could not understand, because their mindset was on food that would nourish their body, not on anything eternal.
So they asked, “What sign do You do, that we may believe in You?” They had already seen the sign, but they did not know it.
And the Lord began to speak to them and said, “I am the Bread of Life. I came down from heaven.” The other bread—the bread that He had multiplied—would perish. But he who eats Him shall never hunger or thirst.
We have life in Him, and in the last day He will raise us from the dead. “My flesh is food indeed. My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath life.”
Our Lord was trying to lead them away from that which is physical, material, earthly, and temporal, into something that is eternal, heavenly, and forever. The Lord was trying to lead them away even from His blessing to Himself. This is the will of God.
But you know what happened. Not only the multitudes, but the Bible says many of His disciples began to murmur and say, “Now, this is a hard saying. How can we take it? It is too much.”
And the Lord said, “If you see the Son of Man ascending to heaven, then you will see the difference.” And from that day onward, many of His disciples departed and walked no longer with Him.
Now, brothers and sisters, this scene has been repeated numberless times throughout the centuries. Many crowded to the Lord, but when the Lord began to do real business with them, many departed and walked no longer with Him.
So finally, our Lord turned to the twelve whom He had chosen, and the Lord said, “Do you also want to go? If you feel that way, feel free to do it.”
Thank God for Simon Peter. He said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and know that You are the Holy One of God.”
What does it mean? It means that once caught, no escape. “Lord, You have caught me. Even if You want to push me away, where can I go? To whom can I go?”
“I was caught by You. I have no alternative. I have nowhere to go. I am stuck with You. You have the words of life.”
Even though, I suppose, Peter did not really understand what the Lord said—“I am the Bread of Life. My blood is drinkable. My flesh is eatable”—I wonder whether Peter really understood. Probably not. But he was caught by the Lord. No escape.
Was Peter always like that? I wonder. You remember the story: when Simon was led by his brother Andrew to the Lord, the Lord looked at him in John 1.
The word look there does not mean just to cast a glance. It means to look up and down, to look deeply, to look into his very being. The Lord looked him up. In other words, the Lord knew everything about him.
And the Lord said, “You are Simon, but you shall be Peter.” And because of that, Simon began to follow the Lord.
I believe that when our Lord performed His first miracle at the feast in Cana, His disciples were with Him. Now, who were these disciples? I believe Simon Peter was one of them.
And after John the Baptist was imprisoned, our Lord began His public ministry in Galilee. The first thing He did was call for disciples. As He went by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and Andrew. They were casting out the nets, trying to catch fish. And the Lord said, “Come and follow Me. I will make you fishers of men.” They left their nets, their boat, and followed the Lord.
But then, in Luke 5, when our Lord came back to where Simon lived, you know what happened? He went fishing all night.
And the next day, when our Lord was going to speak to the multitudes, He borrowed Simon’s boat. He spoke to the multitude. After He finished, He told Simon Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
Why? The Lord knew the heart of Simon. He followed the Lord for a time, and then he began to wonder whether he could do it. He lived with the Lord Jesus. He heard His words. He saw His actions. And he looked at himself: “I am unfit. I am going to drop out. There is no way for me to follow Him. I will not make it.”
So he tried to quietly drop out. He went back to his old profession—fishing. But thank God he caught nothing that night. If he had caught something, I do not know what would have happened.
God knew he caught nothing. He could not go back. God would not allow him. And our Lord Jesus knew all about it.
The Lord knew his heart. It was as if the Lord said, “If you really want to drop out, all right. You are no longer following Me as My disciple. So if I use your boat, I have to pay for it. I will pay you well—a boat full of fish.”
And, brothers and sisters, you remember the story. When Simon saw what happened, he was an expert in fishing. Our Lord knew nothing about fishing, as far as Simon was concerned. But he said, “Well, for Your sake, I will do it,” though he did not believe.
But when he saw that boat full of fish, he saw the glory of God. God is almighty. There is nothing He cannot do. He can make the impossible possible.
So he fell down before the Lord and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He was the one who tried to depart from the Lord, but now he was caught.
“Depart from me; I am a sinner.” You have to understand the human feeling in that. “I am unfit. I am unworthy. But Lord, will You take me?”
And the Lord said, “Fear not. From henceforth thou shalt catch men.” And from that time onward, this man was caught. No escape.
“To whom shall we go, except to go with You? We are finished.”
Brothers and sisters, I wonder whether this is our condition. What is our concept of Christianity? Is it just blessings?
If the Lord is trying to lead you away from blessings to Himself, will you go with Him? If the Lord takes away all the blessings and gives you a hard time, will you depart? Do you have alternatives—where you can go, what you can do?
Or has the glory of the Lord so caught you that you are finished? You have no alternative but to follow Him. That is Christianity. That is discipleship.
How are we ever caught by the Lord? Throughout the centuries, many people of God, if you read their biographies, you will find that they have been challenged. They have been tested. And in their life experience, they met the Lord—or the Lord met them—in such a way that the Lord became first in their life.
Abraham: the God of glory appeared to him, and that finished him. He had to depart, separate himself from all the old relationships, and by faith follow the Lord, not knowing where he was going.
He failed many times, but no escape. It does not mean that once you are caught, you will never fail. You do fail. You are not stronger than anybody else, not better than anybody else. It is the grace of God, the mercy of God.
But even so, no escape. You may try, but it will not work.
Brothers and sisters, think of the apostle Paul. On the road to Damascus, he was caught by the Lord. And once caught, no escape.
To be a Christian, to be a disciple of the Lord, is a challenge. I believe, brothers and sisters, in all our Christian lives, after you have believed in the Lord Jesus, you must be challenged by the Lord many times, in many ways.
Sometimes it is something that you love more than anything else, but the Lord challenges you.
When you are challenged, what is the meaning behind it? Very simple: who is first? Who is all? Is Christ first, or something else?
It may be a thing that you love, a habit that you will not give up, a friendship, even the nearest and closest to you.
The Lord said, “Unless you love Me more than your father, mother, brother, sister, wife, husband, children, even your own life, you cannot be My disciple.” The requirement is absolute.
The Lord demands above all things. And that is the reason why, in our Christian life, you are almost daily faced with these challenges: the Lord or something else that you love. Which comes first? Are you willing to give up what you love and love the Lord?
I am afraid, brothers and sisters, we are living in a very testing moment. As the Bible says, not only the earth, but the heaven is being shaken. It is very true.
And in this time of shaking, unless you have a very solid relationship with the Lord, I wonder what will happen to you.
In no sense does it mean that you are stronger than anybody else. No. But you need a stronger magnet. The Lord has so attracted you that you have no escape. Otherwise, I am afraid, we will not be able to stand.
May the Lord, dear brothers and sisters, draw us in such a way that nothing can really draw us except Himself: His glory, His love, His will, His perfect purpose concerning us.
Only this is strong enough to catch us. And once caught, no escape.
So that is the burden of my heart. And I do pray, Lord, that every one of us will really go back to the Lord and ask the Lord to show us where we are: whether we still have many alternatives, many escape roads, or whether we are caught by the Lord.
Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we do praise and thank Thee for Thy love towards us. Thou art willing to give up everything for us.
May Thy love touch our hearts, that we will not keep back anything from Thee. We will not allow anything to take precedence before Thee. We are willing to lay everything at Thy feet and acknowledge Thee as truly our Lord of all.
Do not allow us to take our relationship with Thee lightly. Lord, Thou art looking for a people who are ready for Thy return. Do it to us.
We are willing to be willing. We want to follow Thee all the way. Aside from Thee, there is no one to whom we can go, nowhere we can go.
Thou hast the words of life. Thou art the Holy One of God. We worship Thee in Thy precious name.